Currently-implemented wireless communication networks, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) networks and the like, often use channel state information feedback from subscriber stations to enable advanced performance enhancement technologies. For example, channel state information may be used for frequency-domain and time-domain channel-sensitive scheduling, as well as for the application of closed-loop multi-antenna technologies. One common representation of channel state information is a Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), which is a measure of channel quality often obtained by normalizing the effective channel gain by interference power. To derive equivalent CQI information, further processing of channel state information may be performed. For example, a capacity formula or a constrained capacity formula, given the input of channel and interference information, may be applied to derive the equivalent CQI information. CQI fluctuates with channel and interference variation. In certain scenarios, feedback of CQI for multiple channels may be desired, such as situations in which multiple logical or physical channels are used or in which multiple streams in a MIMO channel are used.
To reduce the amount of feedback overhead, often only a few of the best CQIs are selected for feedback. The system may then attempt to improve performance by selectively transmitting to users on channels with favorable channel conditions. However, this becomes problematic when the CQIs in multiple channels are very different. In this case, although the CQIs fluctuate, the user may always choose to report CQI for one particular channel because that particular channel is always favorable to him regardless of the channel fluctuation. For example, when frequency reuse schemes are applied and a certain frequency is in frequency reuse, the channel condition in that frequency is likely to be more favorable for certain users in certain sectors. These users may always request to be served on the frequency that is in frequency reuse. In this case, that particular frequency may become heavily loaded while other frequencies are not efficiently utilized. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved method for providing channel state information feedback in a wireless communication system.